Miracles on Ice: Jets-Knights Mega Preview

The Highlights

Coming into the season, Vegas was 100-1 and Winnipeg was 66-1 to win the Stanley Cup.

The two preseason longshots will meet in the Western Conference finals with Winnipeg (-145) listed as a slight favorite.

Do the Knights have a chance to continue their magical run? Sure, but our team isn’t too keen on their prospects of upsetting Winnipeg.

The Vegas Golden Knights were 100-1 to win the Stanley Cup on Opening Night. The Winnipeg Jets were 66-1. This is what makes sports fun.

At this point, everyone who hasn’t been living the past six months in a Tibetan monastery knows that the Knights are the “story of the year,” and a trip to the Stanley Cup Final would be an enchanting final chapter of this fairy tale.

Standing in the Knights’ way are the Winnipeg Jets — a charming team in its own right. The Jets have taken the step from “up-and-comer” to “juggernaut” this season and are deserved favorites against the upstarts from Vegas.

Vegas and Winnipeg for the Western Conference title. Just like we figured.

The Setup

On the surface, the two cities that will face off for a trip to the Stanley Cup Final have absolutely nothing in common.

But there are more similarities than one might think. The cities with approximate populations of 700,000 have only one major professional sports team and share a love of hockey. Even if the love in Vegas has started to blossom only recently, you can’t deny the passion. Get ready for an amazing atmosphere for every single game in this series — whether in the Sin City or the Peg — as these two newer franchises seek their first Cup appearance.

Vegas took two of the three meetings in the regular season, including the February rubber match in Winnipeg by a score of 3-2 in OT. Marc-Andre Fleury played only in that final matchup; Maxime Lagace started the first two games, which each home team won with ease.